本项目提出了一种可灵活控制燃烧化学反应路径的新型发动机原理，即燃料先经重整缸压缩加热重整氧化后，再导入到工作缸中与喷入的燃料一起燃烧。通过对重整氧化边界条件和工作缸燃烧边界条件的控制对燃烧化学反应路径进行灵活控制，抑制有害排放产物生成并减少燃烧过程的不可逆热损失，从而实现高效清洁燃烧的目标。本项目将采用低温氧化实验装置、定容燃烧装置、光学发动机和发动机台架等实验装置和气相色谱-质谱联用、高分辨率质谱、同步辐射光电离和激光诱导荧光等探测技术以及数值模拟技术，研究燃料重整低温氧化反应机理及关键产物演变过程、可控燃烧反应路径燃烧过程着火与燃烧反应机理、有害产物及非常规排放生成机理以及高效清洁燃烧控制策略等，探索通过控制燃烧化学反应路实现高效清洁燃烧的新原理、新方法，并对该原理进行验证。该研究对发展可控化学反应路径内燃机燃烧新理论具有重要的理论意义，所提出的燃烧新技术也具有很好的工程应用前景。

A new combustion theory based on the flexibly controllable combustion reaction pathway for internal combustion engine is proposed. According to this theory, part of the fuel will be partially oxidized and reformed at low-temperature in the reforming cylinder during the compression stroke to be transferred into the reformed mixture. The reformed mixture then will be introduced into the work cylinders. After the injection of the fuel, the mixtures in the work cylinders will be ignited to release the energy. By adjusting the operation parameters of both the reforming cylinder and the work cylinders, the combustion reaction pathways of the fuel can be flexibly controlled to reduce the harmful emissions and the exergy loss and thus to improve the fuel efficiency. The investigations will be carried out on the low-temperature oxidation equipment, the diffusion combustion equipment, the high-temperature high-pressure combustion bomb, the optical engine, and a modified engine. Diagnosis techniques including gas chromatography mass spectroscopy, high-resolution mass spectroscopy, synchrotron photoionization, and laser-induced fluorescence, as well as simulations will also be applied to demonstrate the theory of low-temperature oxidation and reformation, the flexibly controllable combustion reaction pathways, the formation of the harmful and unregular emissions, and the mechanism of the energy transformation. Controlling strategies will be proposed for the high-efficiency and clean combustion of the internal combustion engine. The proposal is vital in clarifying the combustion mechanisms of the controllable reaction pathways and in developing the high-efficiency and clean combustion theory. The strategies and the techniques can also be applied to the practical internal combustion engines.